Chapter 80: The Tradition of the Sword Pavilion?

The house and spirit fields were given to her by her master. She would never let anyone take them away, even if it meant death.

But since her master was the Supreme Elder, they probably wouldn't do that, right?

"Little Junior Sister, why are you guarding the door like that?"

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Yue Qianchi, standing on her flying sword in the air, teased her with a smile. "What? Are you afraid we'll take your little house apart and move in ourselves?"

The surrounding Sword Pavilion disciples burst into laughter at her words.

However, there was no malice in their laughter.

Li Qingran, whose thoughts had been exposed, blushed furiously and stammered, unable to form a coherent response.

"Li Qingran, was it your master who arranged this house and spirit fields for you?"

The speaker was Su Qinian, the Pavilion Master.

Li Qingran glanced up at him, then quickly averted her gaze, mumbling, "Yes, it was my master. He said it's just for me. The spirit fields… they're for me to tend alone…"

"I see." Su Qinian looked at the spirit fields with hidden astonishment.

The fertility of these spirit fields was already considered top-tier.

His own medicinal garden was only at this level, and it wasn't much larger than Li Qingran's.

Yet, ten such spirit fields had been cultivated right under his nose.

What kind of figure was Li Qingran's master?

Could he have infiltrated the Sword Pavilion without Su Qinian noticing?

He must have used some kind of treasure, but even so, the means to accomplish this were extraordinary.

"Master, Junior Sister Qingran is afraid you'll take her spirit fields~"

Prompted by Yue Qianchi, Su Qinian finally realized why Li Qingran was so guarded. He rolled his eyes and said, "If you don't tend to the spirit fields yourself, do you expect me to do it for you? You've got quite the imagination!"

The Sword Pavilion disciples burst into laughter again.

Li Qingran's face turned even redder as she stammered, "I… I didn't mean it that way…"

Su Qinian: "Yes, you did."

"I didn't…"

"Then what did you mean?"

Li Qingran fell silent.

She didn't dare to speak.

She had never seen a sect master who would press a disciple like this.

Su Qinian, seeing Li Qingran speechless, stroked his beard with a satisfied smile and said, "The peak is your chosen dwelling. How you cultivate it is up to you. No matter how beautiful you make it, it's still yours. Although our Sword Pavilion is poor, we're not so poor that we'd rob our own disciples."

"That's right, Junior Sister. We're just curious to see it. After all, such a large spirit field is rare." Yue Qianchi's eyes were filled with envy. If she had such a large spirit field, she probably wouldn't need to spend money on spirit herbs. She could be self-sufficient and even sell the surplus for extra income.

"Senior Sister, you can plant your spirit herbs here too…"

Li Qingran thought that since her senior sister had been kind to her, helping her plant some spirit herbs wouldn't be a big deal.

"Junior Sister, that's thoughtful of you, but you should keep your spirit fields for yourself." Yue Qianchi snorted proudly and said, "Aren't you planning to become an alchemist or a healer? Spirit fields are very important to you. Work hard!"

"Oh, and here, take this." She took out a small cloth bag from her storage pouch and handed it to Li Qingran. "These are some basic spirit herb seeds. I bought too many last time. You can have them."

"Senior Sister…" Li Qingran opened her mouth to refuse, but Yue Qianchi, with a cheeky look, interrupted her, "If you refuse, I'll plant dogtail grass all over your spirit fields!"

Li Qingran: "…"

"Little Junior Sister, I brought you two jars of spirit wine this morning. Remember to take them inside."

On the flying sword next to Yue Qianchi, Xu An, the head disciple of Lingyun Peak, waved at Li Qingran with a smile.

"You must be the new junior sister. I'm Gongsun Sheng, the second disciple of Lingyun Peak." A sword cultivator took out an object from his robe and handed it to Li Qingran. "This is a little gadget I made. When activated with spiritual energy, it can release 108,000 spiritual steel needles. It might save your life in a critical moment."

"Junior Sister, I'm Zhen He, the head disciple of Cangjian Peak." Another sword cultivator, sitting on a crane, handed her a small bag. "These are three Cangjian Pills, containing my condensed sword energy. They're lethal to anyone below the Foundation Establishment stage and can severely injure those below the Golden Core stage. Keep them for self-defense."

"Junior Sister, this is one of my cranes. I'll give it to you."

"Junior Sister, I don't have much, but here are some pills. Hehe!"

"Junior Sister, this hairpin is for you. It suits you well~"

All sorts of gifts were handed to Li Qingran. Her arms were full, and the gifts piled up beside her.

"Here, take this." A cold voice sounded.

Li Qingran peeked out from behind the pile of gifts, confused. It was the senior brother she had seen earlier, the one who slept on a turtle's back and cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness.

Truly, the Path of Ruthlessness.

His words felt like knives, sharp and cutting.

"I'm Duan Feng, the head disciple of Ruthless Cliff." Duan Feng held a heavy black sword case in both hands and said indifferently, "Once you enter the Sword Pavilion, you become a sword cultivator. A sword is no longer just a weapon; it's our companion, our family. Even a wooden sword must be cherished until it can no longer be used.

Almost all our resources go into nurturing our swords and cultivation. This sword case can nourish your blade, repair minor damages, and make it sharper. It's yours now."

"This… I can't accept this… It's too… too valuable…"

Li Qingran was overwhelmed by the flood of gifts from her senior brothers and sisters, her words stumbling.

"It's fine. It's just a material possession, and I have a better one."

Duan Feng placed the sword case on top of the gift pile, found a perfect balance, and left without another word.

His sword hung at his waist, its surface gleaming with a faint blue light. It was the only sword not floating in the air.

After everyone had given their gifts, Li Qingran was completely surrounded by the pile of presents. The crane gifted by Senior Sister Zhao Le even helped carry some of them.

The situation had far exceeded her expectations. She had thought her senior brothers and sisters might demand something from her, but after giving their gifts, they all left without any intention of staying.

Yue Qianchi helped Li Qingran carry all the gifts into the house.

The two of them sat by the edge of Luoxia Peak under the moonlight, each holding a jar of Xu An's spirit wine.

"This is the tradition of our Sword Pavilion. You'll get used to it."

Yue Qianchi gently patted Li Qingran's head, a soft smile on her lips.

"But why did they give me so many things…"

Li Qingran was still puzzled.

Wasn't the Sword Pavilion supposed to be poor?

One senior brother had even given her his life-saving pills, keeping only one for himself.

Yue Qianchi gazed at the moon, a hint of sorrow in her eyes. After a moment of silence, she slowly said, "Junior Sister, it's been a long time since the Sword Pavilion had new disciples. The path of a sword cultivator is much harder than that of other sects. It requires not only personal perseverance but also a vast amount of resources. We don't want any more Sword Pavilion disciples to perish prematurely."

In the past, the Sword Pavilion wasn't so poor.

But the death of every sword cultivator was a heavy blow to the Pavilion.

Here, disciples received spirit stones based on their cultivation needs, not their status in the sect.

Even as the Pavilion Master's direct disciple, Yue Qianchi didn't receive extra resources.

And even an ordinary disciple, if they could prove their cultivation needs, would receive sufficient resources after approval from the elders, no matter how much.

This meant that every Sword Pavilion disciple was a resource-consuming beast.

The massive resources spent on nurturing sword cultivators made every loss feel like a piece of their hearts being torn out.

But in this world, who could guarantee they wouldn't die?

Li Qingran didn't know the history of the Sword Pavilion, but she could sense the sorrow in Yue Qianchi's eyes. She reached out and held Yue Qianchi's hand, their fingers intertwining. "Senior Sister, I won't die. I'll work hard to survive. And you mustn't die either. You're the big sister of our Sword Pavilion!"

Yue Qianchi was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily.

"That's right!"

She tilted her head back, and a stream of moonlight flowed from the wine jar.

"With Yue Qianchi here, no one can harm my junior brothers and sisters of the Sword Pavilion!"

Under the moonlight, her eyes burned with determination, her aura seemingly strong enough to shield the entire Luoxia Peak.

Even if she were scarred and battered, Li Qingran would still believe in Yue Qianchi's sincerity.

Because…

This was the sect where her master had once stayed.

…